FR2807390A1 - Jar, for storing feta cheese in oil, has internal thread, insert with tabs allowing it to be screwed into jar and perforated base with vertical loops around its circumference - Google Patents

Abstract

The jar (5) for storing feta cheese in oil has an internal thread (7). An insert which has tabs (16, 16') allowing it to be screwed into the jar has a perforated base (9) with vertical loops (2) around its circumference. A cover (3) and lid (4) are fitted over this.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for packaging solid products in separate elements immersed in a liquid, more particularly intended for the packaging of food products of the feta type.

Known packaging mainly comprising a glass jar filled with oil in which cheese dice are immersed. When the user wants to access the product, he must either empty the jar in colander to let the oil drain and be able to grab the cheese without staining, or dip his fingers directly into the jar to grasp the dice. Neither of these two solutions is satisfactory, especially when the user does not consume the entire product.

Indeed, in the first case, it will be necessary to put the oil in the jar to ensure good preservation of the cheese and clean the soiled jar during the first use. In the second, the shelf life of the product will be reduced for hygiene problems.

also known packaging, more particularly for gherkins immersed in vinegar, and which consists essentially of a jar inside which is a support for lifting the gherkins by translation, and to drain them so that the user catch them. It is usually necessary to hold the stand with one hand while using the other. packaging type is relatively well suited when the liquid contained low viscosity and therefore flows quickly, but the support should be translated very slowly under penalty of overflow if it was to be used with oil. in addition, this device has the disadvantage of having to be maintained high position by the user to provide access to the product. It is therefore necessary to constantly lift the support and let the liquid drip when you want to take the product.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a packaging device overcoming the drawbacks mentioned above devices the prior art.

Indeed, the object of the invention consists of a device for packaging solid products in separate elements immersed in liquid, characterized in that it comprises a jar containing said liquid having a cylindrical portion provided with a thread internal, a support which is said solid product in separate elements, said support having a bottom and elements capable of cooperating with the internal thread of said jar, thus allowing to screw said support inside said jar, and closure means said jar.

Thanks to the internal thread of the jar which cooperates with the elements of the support, it can be raised the product presented in separate elements, such as dice, to reach a level where the liquid can flow so that the user can grasp these separate elements. The user does not have to keep the device in the upper position because it remains naturally there. It is therefore possible to present the jar with the support in the high position directly on a table during meals, for example. The consumer does not dirty the fingers with the liquid and does not spread it outside the jar. When it does not consume the entire product, simply screw back support in the jar so that the product is again immersed in liquid.

Finally, the fact of using a thread to lift the product makes this rise is relatively slow, which is preferable for handling sometimes friable products, such as cheese dice, for example.

It should be noted here that the bottom of the support is not necessarily made of a rigid material, but may quite well consist of a mesh with more or less tight mesh fixed on a rigid cylinder, in the sieve manner, by example. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support comprises a series of substantially vertical branches spaced from each other and rising on the periphery of said bottom.

This embodiment makes it possible to keep the solid elements against each other when they are moved upwards or downwards, by screwing the support into the jar, and is particularly advantageous for fragile products, while allowing a flow. side of the liquid. It is of course quite possible to replace these branches by solid side walls, pierced or not with outlets.

The relative spacing of the branches depends on the size of the separated elements and must be such that these separated elements can not pass between them.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is characterized in that said cylindrical portion provided with said internal thread of the jar is located in the lower part of said jar and is extended by an upper portion whose diameter is greater than that from the bottom part.

This embodiment is advantageous for several reasons. It allows first of all to open the jar more easily, because of the difference in diameter existing between the lower part of the jar, takes in his hand, and the upper part of the jar on which the jar closure means attaches, such as that a screwed lid, for example. In addition, the existence of a lower part of smaller diameter makes it possible to minimize the quantity of liquid necessary to completely immerse the product into separate elements.

In another embodiment of the invention, each of the branches of the carrier of the packaging device comprises a vertical lower portion extended by an upper portion projecting outwardly of the support.

This embodiment allows, when the support is raised until its bottom reaches the separation between the lower part of the jar and the upper part of larger diameter, to leave the upper part of the branches, previously confined by the walls of the jar, open in corolla, each branch following the walls of the upper part of the jar. The consumer can then more easily access the content.

The material chosen for the manufacture of these branches is preferably a plastic material, or any other material which is both rigid enough not to bend too much under the weight of the product if the consumer wishes to completely remove the support from the jar, but which however, be flexible enough that the upper part of the branches can marry the shape of the jar.

In another preferred embodiment, the elements capable of cooperating with the internal thread of the jar are carried by said arms of the support.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following detailed description given with reference to the accompanying drawings in which - Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention in use, FIG. 3 is a front view of a part of the device represented in FIG. 1, FIG. is a front view of another part of the device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the part shown in FIG.

Referring to Figure 1, the device according to the invention comprises a cylindrical jar 1 inside which is placed a substantially cylindrical basket 2 as a support. A lid 3 will then be sealed at the top of the jar 1, then the jar will be closed by screwing a lid. Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the jar 1 consists of a lower part. 5 and an upper portion 6 of larger diameter. The lower part 5 carries an internal thread 7 made by means of a helical groove recessed on the wall of the jar which forms three revolutions of continuous screw thread, while the upper part 6 carries an external thread formed by six discontinuous projections 8, 8 ', etc.- (only two of which are represented). The upper part 6 does not have a constant diameter but flares away from the upper end of the lower part 5. This jar can be made, for example, by plastic molding in one piece, but can also be made using two different plastics, transparent or not, for the upper part and the lower part. <B> It </ B> is also possible to use any other material suitable for the preservation of the product such as glass, ceramic metal, for example.

Basket 2 is more particularly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It consists of a slightly hemispherical bottom 9, provided with three series of concentric perforations 10, 10 'and 10 "of decreasing size. the periphery of the bottom 9 are those with the largest area and which are at the lowest level, this has the effect of promoting the flow through them, when the basket goes up but especially when it goes down, thus eliminating any "braking" "when the user screws the basket 2 into the jar 1.

The basket 2 also comprises a series of nine branches 12, etc., which are almost identical, and distributed at a distance from each other around the bottom 9. Each branch 12 has a substantially rectangular shape pierced with an upper oblong opening 13, intended to make them more flexible. Each branch 12 has a substantially vertical bottom portion 14 and is connected to the bottom 9. The height of this vertical portion 14 is slightly less than the height of the lower part 5 of the jar 1. Each branch 12, 12 ', etc. in addition, under the oblong opening 13, an element 16, 16 ', etc., projecting outwards and placed in the extension of the element which precedes it, all the elements 16, 16', etc. .. thus forming a turn of discontinuous screw pitch, which will cooperate with the internal thread 7 of the jar 1 to raise or lower the basket 2. This lower portion 14 is extended by an upper portion 15 which projects to the outside of the basket 2. The height of this upper portion 15 is slightly less than the height of the upper part 6 of the jar 1 and its flaring shape is substantially the same as that of this part 6.

The basket finally comprises gripping means in the form of a rod 11 which rises from the top of the hemispherical bottom 9, and which is striated at its upper end to facilitate its handling by the user. This rod 11 is slightly higher than the upper part 15 of the branches 12, 12 ', etc., of the basket 9.

The assembly of the device according to the invention is carried out as follows: the basket 2 is first screwed into the jar 1 using the striated rod 11 until reaching the bottom of the jar 1, the branches of the basket coming to take place in the lower part 5 of the jar 1. then introduces the cheese in the form of small dice inside the basket and then poured the oil until immersion dice or up to the level of the part 6, under the threaded portion 8,8 ', etc., for example. The lid is then sealed on the upper edge of the jar 1 and the packaging is finished by screwing the lid 4 onto the outer screw thread 8, 8 ', etc. of the jar 1.

The user wishing to access the contents of the jar 1 unscrews the lid 4, then removes the lid 3. As can be seen in Figure 2, he then grabs the striated rod 11 which is in the center of the jar 1 and rotates it counterclockwise (direction of the arrow) which causes the raising of the basket 2. The user continues to rotate the rod 11 until the bottom 9 of the basket 2 is to- above the level of the oil. upper part 15 of the branches 12, 12 ', etc. then marries the contours the upper part 6 of the jar 1 allowing easy access to the product. It can then release the rod 11 and wait for the oil to flow completely out of the basket 2 to be able to take "cheese without spilling oil on the outside of the jar 1 and without getting dirty fingers.

In this configuration, the product can also be presented directly on a table without having to be transferred to another container. If the user does not wish to consume the entire product, he can then screw the basket 2 in the other direction to bring it down to the bottom of the jar 1, thus plunging the cheese into the oil. once the basket down, then just screw the lid 4 on jar 1 to make it all airtight. Packaged product can be stored for two to three weeks in a cool place.

It is obvious that the embodiment of the device which has been described above has been given for information only and in no way limiting, that many modifications can easily be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. the invention.

Thus, if it is more particularly intended for fragile food products such as cheese dice dipped in oil, it can be used advantageously for the packaging and presentation of all types of products in the form of solid elements separated in a liquid.

Claims (10)

<U> CLAIMS </ U> 1. Device for packaging solid products in separate elements immersed in a liquid, characterized in that it comprises a jar (1) containing said liquid and having a cylindrical portion (5) provided with an internal thread (7), a support (2), on which is said solid product in separate elements, said support (2) having a bottom (9) and elements (16, 16 ') capable of cooperating with the internal thread (7) of said jar (1) , thus enabling said support (2) to be screwed inside said jar (1), and closure means (3, 4) of said jar (1). 2. Device according to claim 1 characterized in that said support (2) comprises a series of branches (12, substantially vertical and spaced apart from each other, rising from the periphery of said bottom (9) - 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said cylindrical portion (5) provided with said internal thread (7) of the jar (1) is located in the lower part (5) of said jar (1) and is extended by an upper part (6) whose diameter is greater than that of the lower part (5). 4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that each of said branches (12, 12 ') comprises a vertical lower portion (14) extended by an upper portion (15) projecting outwardly of the support (2) . 5. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the elements (16, 16 ') capable of cooperating with the internal thread (7) of the jar (1) are carried by said branches (12, 12). ') of the support (2). 6. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said support (2) comprises gripping means (11). 7. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the bottom (9) of said support (2) comprises a series of perforations (10, 10 ', 10 "). 8. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said closure means (3, 4) of the jar (1) are constituted by a seal (3) which seals and a cover (4) screwing on said jar (1) on said lid (3). 9. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said solid product in separate elements is a foodstuff. 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that said food product is feta immersed in oil.